Departed Chief of Defence Forces, Francis Ogolla will be honoured with a 19-gun salute as part of Military Honours, Defence CS Aden Duale has said.
He will also be accorded a church service and a military parade, as is procedure.
“In accordance with the military procedures, the Military Honours ceremony will be conducted on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata from 1 pm,” Duale said in a statement on Friday.
“The honours will include a church service, military parade and a 19-gun salute.”
The ceremony will be attended by President William Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi among other state officials.
In his statement, Duale said that a post-mortem examination was conducted on Friday at the Mashujaa Funeral Home in the Defence Forces Memorial Hospital.
Ogolla’s body will then be flown to his Ng’iya home on Sunday, where he will be laid to rest.
The Memorial service of the departed General Francis Ogolla will be held five days after his burial, at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
His burial is set for April 21, in adherence to his will, where he asked to be buried within 72 hours of his death.
After the burial, an initial service will be held at his local church in Nduru.
“In honour of his humble nature, General Ogolla specified that his burial occurs within 72 hours of his passing, echoing the profound truth that from dust we came and to dust we shall return,” the family said.
The events culminating in Ogolla’s burial have been taken over by the state. This is because he died in office.
The bodies of Gen Ogolla and nine other military officers and servicemen were flown to Nairobi on Thursday night.
The bodies were received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s Embakasi military hangar where a prayer service was held.
They were then driven in ambulances to Forces Memorial Hospital for preservation past midnight.
